How to use groan in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Groan means a low, mournful sound uttered in pain or grief. Example: “We groaned at his awful jokes.”

Examples of groan by meaning

nounA low, mournful sound uttered in pain or grief.

let out a groan

verbTo make a groan.

We groaned at his awful jokes.
The wooden table groaned under the weight of the banquet.
Designed to accommodate 60,000 people per day in the 1960s, the main concourse, entrances and passageways around the station were by then positively groaning under the weight of more than 140,000 passengers every 24 hours.2020 July 29, Paul Stephen, “A new collaboration centred on New Street”, in Rail, page 54

verbTo seemingly creak under the strain of being heavily laden.

That night the table in the outer dining room was just groaning with good things.1943, H. Lorna Bingham, The Lost Tribe, Sydney: Winn and Co., page 14, column 1
Bookshelves groan under the bloated weight of tomes detailing Great Straight Marriages.1979 February 10, John Mitzel, “Crimes of Passion”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 28, page 13
Rompoti’s curvy protagonist, an event planner named Sienna, was in a scene, the A.I. constantly referenced her weight, for example, noting that a chair groaned when she sat down.2026 February 8, Alexandra Alter, “The New Fabio Is Claude”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

More sentences with groan

Edward told an unfunny knock-knock joke that made his brother groan.From the entry unfunny
We sat down to a groaning table and feasted all evening.From the entry groaning
Jacob groaned inwardly when he was called on to answer the question.From the entry inwardly
The hack comic produced a rubber chicken, to the groans and boos of the audience.From the entry rubber chicken
He made several bad-taste jokes to groans from the audience.From the entry to
We punned about the topic until all around us groaned.From the entry pun
With a groan, he ejaculated on his abdomen.From the entry ejaculate
She sighed a sigh that was nearly a groan.From the entry sigh
Aural communication includes spoken words and paralexical sounds (groans, screams, whimpers); sound effects (wind, a car starting up and driving away); and music.From the entry paralexical
A great number of the Parisian population were groaning, but the revolutionists triumphed with joy.2018, Imbert De Saint-Amand, Marie Antoinette and the Downfall of Royalty, page 167. From the entry revolutionist
“You can't do anything,” Stanley groaned, “but wait for her grudginess to subside.2016 November 4, Molly Booth, Saving Hamlet, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, →ISBN. From the entry grudginess
It clunked and groaned like never before, as they passed through the rollers.2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], “Pink Furry Slippers”, in Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books…. From the entry gruesome twosome
As fear chilled him to the bone, he loosed a final piteous groan.2011, Felix Hagan, “Vengeance On My Mind”, in Dawn Breaks, the Monster Wakes.... From the entry piteous
He was groaning in agony from the gut shot, and it kept him from regaining his feet.2010, Joe Mckinney, Apocalypse of the Dead, →ISBN, page 83. From the entry gut shot
A cyclic wheezing, groaning noise began as Vin approach the back wall.2010 February 18, "danw" ("DAWootan"), {ASSM} OTEC_204_Years, alt.sex.stories.moderated. From the entry vworp
He groaned, it was just the sort of case the media had a field day over.2009, Christine Brooks, A Quiet Village, page 81. From the entry circus
There were low groans of pain as the field plunged into the perishingly cold water.2009 January 5, Matthew Weaver, “Our man in the ... Annual mud race in Essex”, in The Guardian. From the entry perishingly
Trenholme groaned softly in the background, eliciting a sharp command from his brother to “shut his jobbernowl.”2006, Pamela Aidan, Duty and Desire: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman, Simon and Schuster, page 266. From the entry jobbernowl
He ordered a Corona, stretched and groaned as he lowered himself into a too small bar chair.2005, Buff Brazy Given, Simon’s Story: A Novel, [sine loco]: Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 161. From the entry bar chair
He pointed toward a groaning tram packed with malnourished workmen, rickets, and penury.2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Sceptre (Hodder and Stoughton), →ISBN. From the entry shanks' pony
There were others like her in the room, groaning and moaning from their pacifier gags.2003 November 30, ted, quoting Mistress Janice, “diaper stories - White Badge Of Shame2.rtf (1/1)”, in alt.sex.fetish.diapers (Usenet). From the entry pacifier gag
With a groan, Tristan rolled out of bed, his soft blond hair sticking up like duckfluff.2000 -, Christina L. Sheil, Letting Go, →ISBN, page 23. From the entry duckfluff
Ma awoke every morning with a groan quickly routed by a brief loud cheups.2000, Merle Hodge, Crick Crack, Monkey, page 18. From the entry cheups
He slammed the door viciously, then winced, groaning, at the brain-stabbing noise.1999, Leonard Wolf, Blood Thirst: 100 Years of Vampire Fiction, page 183. From the entry brain-stabbing
“Argghh, a booter,” Sally groaned when she sloshed across a puddle too wide to jump.1997, Ian Wilson, Sally Wilson, Gold Rush: North to Alaska and the Klondike, page 106. From the entry booter
The Roman began to throat his rigid flagpole of a mancock, making groaning noises.1995, Kyle Stone, Hot bauds: a selection of steamy BBS writings, Badboy. From the entry throat
Inside the atmosphere was rank and caliginous: fumes rose from puddles, groans sifted through the shadows.1981, T[homas] Coraghessan Boyle, “The Niger”, in Water Music, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, →ISBN; republished London: Granta Books…. From the entry caliginous
He switched on, put the groaning vehicle into gear, turned it round skilfully and sped dustily townwards.1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 600. From the entry dustily
"Oh, gosh," he groaned, "and I'd have given anything for a refill of that suet!1951, Anthony Buckeridge, Jennings Follows a Clue. From the entry refill
It fell without a struggle or a groan, unpitied and unregretted.1912, John Lingard, Hilaire Belloc, The History of England from the First Invasion by the Romans. From the entry unregretted
The fog horns groaned and groaned again, and siren whistled and wrawled.1908, Will Sparks, Philopolis, volume 3, page 139. From the entry wrawl
But the shot for luck struck Lean John's horse, and it fell with a groan.1905, Charles Fletcher Lummis, Out West: A Magazine of the Old Pacific and the New. From the entry one for luck
To my kids, whom I trust to groan and roll their eyes at the slightest hint of cringey-ness or clichés.2025 January 14, Samantha Sotto Yambao, “Acknowledgments”, in Water Moon: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Del Rey, →ISBN. From the entry cringey-ness

Meaning of groan

noun A low, mournful sound uttered in pain or grief.
noun A low, guttural sound uttered in frustration, disapproval, or ecstasy.
noun A low creaking sound from applied pressure or weight.

Full definition of groan

Questions about groan in a sentence

How do you use groan in a sentence?: Groan is used as a noun and verb. For example: “We groaned at his awful jokes.”
What is a short sentence with groan?: “let out a groan”
What does groan mean?: Groan means a low, mournful sound uttered in pain or grief.

Adapted from Wiktionary: groan (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use groan in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/groan. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.